Canto 3 -
Araṇya-kāṇḍa
Chapter 23: Khara Disregards Evil Omens on the Way
Text 3.23.12
कबन्धः परिघाभासो दृश्यते भास्करान्तिके।
जग्राह सूर्यं स्वर्भानुरपर्वणि महाग्रहः॥
kabandhaḥ parighābhāso dṛśyate bhāskarāntike
jagrāha sūryaṁ svar-bhānur aparvaṇi mahāgrahaḥ
kabandhaḥ = a cloud in the form of a headless human trunk; parigha-ābhāsaḥ = resembling the parigha weapon; dṛśyate = was seen; bhāskara-antike = near the sun; jagrāha = eclipsed; sūryam = the sun; svar-bhānuḥ = Rāhu; aparvaṇi = on a non-parva day; mahā-āgrahaḥ = with great eagerness.
A cloud in the form of a headless human trunk resembling the parigha weapon was seen near the sun.1 With great eagerness Rāhu eclipsed the sun on a non-parva day.
1 Rāmāyaṇa-bhūṣaṇa: tathoktaṁ kāmandakīye: “sūrya-dṛṣṭa-kabandhādir akasmān mūḍha-vāhanaḥ” iti.
A parva is the conjunction of a Pūrṇimā and the next day. Rāhu eclipsed the sun even on a day that was not a parva. 2